FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a method of producing a conventional electroformed component, that is, a contact. First, as a pretreatment, a surface of an electrically conductive base material 11 is subjected to electrolytic degreasing as illustrated in (A) of FIG. 1. Then, as illustrated in (B) of FIG. 1, a photoresist 12 is applied to the surface of the electrically conductive base material 11. Then, as illustrated in (C) of FIG. 1, a laser beam 13 is scanned, with the use of a direct writing exposure device, along a region of the surface of the photoresist 12, except for a region having a contact shape. In a case where the photoresist 12 is a negative resist, a light-exposed part of the photoresist 12 becomes insoluble. Therefore, in a case where a part not having been exposed to the light in a developing step has been removed, openings 14 (cavities) each having a contact shape are made in the photoresist 12 (see (D) of FIG. 1). Then, in a case where a metal material is precipitated on an exposed surface of the electrically conductive base material 11 by electroforming, electroformed components (i.e. contacts 15) are obtained in the respective openings 14 (see (E) of FIG. 1). Then, the photoresist 12 is peeled from the electrically conductive base material 11 (see (F) of FIG. 1). Then, the contacts 15 are peeled from the electrically conductive base material 11 (see (G) of FIG. 1). This allows desired contacts 15 to be fabricated.
Such contacts are sometimes used in such a manner as to be arranged at narrow pitches while maintaining electrical insulation from each other. For example, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the contacts may be used for a probe card that carries out electrical inspection of a highly dense microcircuit board. According to the probe card disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an insulator is sandwiched between a pair of substrates, and contacts such as those described above are contained in respective through-holes made through the insulator. Each of the substrates has supporting holes so as to face the corresponding through-holes of the insulator. Both ends of each of the contacts are inserted into respective supporting holes of corresponding substrates.
According to such a probe card, an end part of each of the contacts comes into contact with a corresponding electrode (inter-electrode pitch: 30 μm to 200 μm) of the microcircuit board to be measured. Therefore, narrow pitches between the electrodes of the microcircuit board to be measured make it necessary to provide the contacts to be arranged at narrow pitches as well.
According to the structure disclosed in Patent Literature 1, however, a thickness between adjacent through-holes and a thickness between adjacent supporting holes need to be thin in order to arrange the contacts at narrow pitches. This poses a problem in terms of strength of the probe card. In addition, even if pitches between adjacent through-holes and pitches between adjacent supporting holes can be made narrow, it is still difficult to insert the contacts, each of which is thin and extremely small, into corresponding through-holes and corresponding supporting holes, and then to arrange the contacts.